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Whizz Pop Bang: Sweet Dreams issue is all about the science of sleep

The dreams of astronaut Helen Sharman

Posted on 31st August 2020 | by Jo at Whizz Pop Bang | Leave a Comment

Listen to Britain’s first ever astronaut, Helen Sharman, talking about dreaming in and about space!

This video animation, What do astronauts dream of?, was made by the Royal Institution as part of a fantastic series called A Place Called Space.

The RI say: “In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton in space; in this animation she shares a dream she has about returning to space, and talks about what it’s like to gaze down on the earth from above.”

Find out more about the science of sleep in SWEET DREAMS – it’s in our shop now!

Did you know that you’ll spend up to a third of your life happily dozing? It sounds pretty relaxing, but actually, sleep isn’t as uneventful as you might imagine. Inside this dreamy edition of Whizz Pop Bang, you’ll find out what goes on inside your sleeping brain, discover ten animals with weird and wonderful ways to sleep and learn all about snoring. You can also build a hibernation station for sleepy wildlife, race around the clock in a pull-out board game and experience the chilling body temperature of a hibernating hamster!

Meet a turtle expert who tells us how these hibernating reptiles breathe through their bottoms, create your own sleep diary, snuggle up with hibernating bears, find out how sleep scientist Eugene Aserinsky discovered some dreamy sleep secrets and reduce Halloween waste by making an upcycled bat garland.

That’s a lot to pack in before bedtime!

Click here to read everything you need to know about Whizz Pop Bang – the awesome science magazine for kids!

Whizz Pop Bang is a top-quality, gender-neutral, advert-free science magazine for families everywhere. Each issue is packed with experiments, activities, amazing facts, puzzles, jokes, riddles and more. Find out more here!

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FREE science activities for year 6 and P7!

Posted on 23rd March 2020 | by Jo at Whizz Pop Bang | Leave a Comment

Now that schools are closed, have you become a home educator overnight? Whizz Pop Bang is the world’s most awesomely amazing kids’ science magazine, bursting with hands-on experiments, facts and fun, and we want to help you and your children with the huge transition that many of us face.

Here are some FREE science activities and experiments to help you entertain, excite and educate your year 6 child! Meet an electrical engineer, discover invisible germs in a bacteria investigation, read about the father of electricity, Michael Faraday, play two bacteria games and design a bridge!

Our experiments are designed for children from 6 to 12, but this list of experiments is particularly perfect for year 6, P7 (Scotland) and 10 year olds and 11 year olds as they tie in with the relevant National Curriculum objectives and topics.

Some of these activities, including all reading comprehensions, were originally designed as A3 magazine spreads, so text may appear too small when printed at A4. They work really well on a tablet or monitor, or you may need to print them on two pages of A4 if your printer allows.

If you have any comments or questions about our free year x science experiments and reading comprehensions, please leave a comment for us. Or do you have any science homeschool ideas or general home educating ideas for 10 and 11 year olds? We’d love to hear from you!

Find loads more science activities, puzzles and games in our award-winning monthly kids science magazine, Whizz Pop Bang!

Interview with an electrical engineer reading comprehension

Building electrical circuits is loads of fun and Nikita Hari gets to do that every day, as she’s an electrical engineer. She explains why she become an electrical engineer, all the obstacles she overcame and gives advice to young scientists.

This downloadable reading pack includes:
– A reading spread about electrical engineer Nikita Hari for you to print or for your child to read on a tablet.
– Reading comprehension question sheet and answer sheet.

Interview-Electrical-engineer Download

Yr6-Electrical-engineer-Questions Download

Yr6-Electrical-engineer-Answers Download

Topic links: Year 6 Electricity, P7 Electricity

Mouldy bread bacteria experiment

Investigate and observe how much mould and bacteria develops when happens when slices of bread are rubbed with clean hands and dirty hands. Children can set up their own investigation and make sure it is a fair test.

This experiment can be found here or downloaded below.

Bacteria-investigation Download

Topic links: Year 6 Living things and habitats, P7 Body systems and cells

Interview with Michael Faraday reading comprehension

Discover why we would all be in the dark if it wasn’t for ‘Father of electricity’, Michael Faraday. Find out how he got a job in the Royal Institution as Humphrey Davy’s assistant and how his fascination for electromagnetism led to the invention of the world’s first electric motor and the dynamo.

This downloadable reading pack includes:
– A reading spread about sensational scientist Michael Faraday for you to print or for your child to read on a tablet.
– Reading comprehension question sheet and answer sheet.

Sensational-scientist-Michael-Faraday Download

Yr6-Michael-Faraday-Questions Download

Yr6-Michael-Faraday-Answers Download

Topic links: Year 6 Electricity, P7 Electricity

Bacteria invasion game

Play a fun printable game, complete with counters and tokens, that shows how bacteria can spread.

NB If you can’t print double sided, just print the first page of the file named ‘tokens-double-sided’

bacteria-invasion-game Download

tokens-double-sided Download

Topic links: Year 6 Living things and habitats, P7 Body systems and cells

Bacteria battle cards

A printable card game that pit several strains of bacteria head-to-head.

bacteria-battle-cards Download

Bonus activity: extremophile puzzle!

Topic links: Year 6 Living things and habitats, P7 Body systems and cells

Design a bridge

Make a beam bridge and a suspension bridge, then design your own bridge with this engineering challenge.

You will need:
Lego
Coins
Two chairs or stools
Plastic pot
String or wool

Design-your-own-bridge Download

Are you home educating children in other year groups? Find more free resources here:
Free science activities for year 2 and P3
Free science activities for year 3 and P4
Free science activities for year 4 and P5
Free science activities for year 5 and P6

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Cool science gifts for kids!

Posted on 3rd May 2019 | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment

Are your kids obsessed with space and the wonder of black holes? This intriguing 50p coin was recently released by the Royal Mint to commemorate the life and achievements of physicist and cosmologist, Professor Stephen Hawking. It’s the perfect gift for science lovers (of
any age!).

A little piece of genius

Who’d have thought it was possible to fit a black hole onto a 50p piece?! Professor Hawking is renowned for his incredible discoveries about space, including the Bekenstein-Hawking theory, which relates to black hole entropy. This complex formula features alongside a brilliant graphic of a black hole on one side of the coin.

A clever celebration

Hawking’s daughter, Lucy, says, “It is a great privilege to be featured on a coin and I hope my father would be pleased to be alongside Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin as scientists who have made it on to money.” It’s a fitting way to honor a lifetime of incredible contributions to science.

Build a collection

Unfortunately, this little beauty isn’t going to turn up in your supermarket change as it’s not being put into general circulation, but if you know a Hawking-in-the-making who would love to add this to their science kit, head to the Royal Mint’s online shop

It’s available in to buy in a commemorative pack – what a perfect present for a science or space fan!

And there’s more…

The Royal Mint have announced that this is the first in a series of four 50p coins celebrating innovators in science, but are keeping the specific subjects of the next three under wraps. A complete set would make amazing science gifts for girls and boys. Which famous scientists would you like to see on future 50p coins? Let us know in the comments!

Images and quotes from www.royalmint.com

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SPACE NEWS: Not so simple Cimon

Posted on 8th January 2019 | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment

The relationship between an astronaut and a flying robot took a surprising turn when the robot stopped doing what it was told. Cimon (which stands for Crew Interactive MObile Companion) is a football-sized intelligent robot that flies around the International Space Station. Cimon was designed to keep the astronauts company and to help them with their work. Recently, astronaut Alexander Gerst asked Cimon to play his favourite song. But when asked to stop and do something different, Cimon carried on talking about music, and eventually said “Don’t be so mean, please”.

While Cimon has been put away for the time being, Gerst hopes to see him back in action soon.

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Listen to our exclusive interview with ESA astronaut Tim Peake!

Posted on 17th September 2018 | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment

How lucky are we to get not one, but two interviews with ESA astronaut Tim Peake!!!!! Our editor Tammy chatted to Tim on the phone, asking him lots of probing questions from curious Whizz Pop Bang readers (see the list of questions below).

Listen to the full interview, complete with NASA footage and photos here 👇🏾

Enjoy space-lovers!

The questions Whizz Pop Bang readers asked Tim:

What did it feel like taking off in a rocket?
Do your ears pop during take-off like they do on a plane?
How long does it take to get into space?
How long does it take to actually get to the space station?
Do you have to stay put in the capsule for the whole journey? And what happens if you need the loo?
What does it feel like to be weightless?
What’s it like seeing Earth from space?
Does seeing Earth make you feel differently about the fragility of the environment?
What was your scariest moment in space?
Is it cold on a spacewalk?
Why does the Soyuz craft look so black and battered now?
Did it hurt when you landed?
What was it like coming back to Earth?
What do you miss most when you’re in space?
Where would you most like to travel to in space?
Do you think flights to Mars will ever happen?
Do you think we will ever find extra-terrestrial life?
What advice do you have for budding space scientists?

Photo and video credits Tim Peake, NASA, ESA, Victor Zelentsov and Scott Kelly.

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Stephen Hawking celebrates 50th year as Cambridge fellow

Stephen Hawking: a super scientist, spaceman and a Dad

Posted on 15th March 2018 | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment

Stephen Hawking floating in a zero-gravity jet undertaking parabolic dips to simulate space conditions over the Atlantic. — *Stephen Hawking floating in a zero-gravity jet undertaking parabolic dips to simulate space conditions over the Atlantic*

Who was Stephen Hawking, and why was he famous? As budding scientists themselves, your children are bound to ask questions about the man in the wheelchair with the strange voice. And rightly so, for this is a man to be talked about and remembered for so many ground-breaking discoveries in science.

On the way to school yesterday morning, as we heard the news of Stephen Hawking’s death, my children asked why he died. This is a perfectly reasonable question, and one I answered with suggestions as I didn’t know exactly why he had died. We listened to the news reader and tried to make sense of a man who defied the doctors’ words and went on to live for an ‘extra’ 53 years.

“Although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found, to my surprise, that I was enjoying life in the present more than before. I began to make progress with my research,” Stephen said.

“My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

Alok Jha explains why black holes are doomed to shrink into nothingness then explode with the energy of a million nuclear bombs, and rewinds to the big bang and the origin of the universe. From The Guardian.

A brief timeline of Stephen’s life and career

Stephen Hawking is a British theoretical physicist, he was born on January the 8th, 1942.
Hawking has made many important contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity. He is also well known for his bestselling book ‘A Brief History of Time’.
Helped by the success of his book ‘A Brief History of Time’, Hawking has released other books aimed at making his work accessible to a wide range of people, these include ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’, ‘A Briefer History of Time’ and ‘George’s Secret Key to the Universe’, a children’s book with a strong focus on science.
Hawking has worked extensively on the subject of black holes, providing theories for their behaviour, including the idea that they emit radiation.
Hawking suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a type of motor neuron disease that has left him almost completely paralysed.
Some of the awards Hawking has received for his work include the 1979 Albert Einstein Medal, the Order of the British Empire (Commander) in 1982 and the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics.

Famous Stephen Hawking quotes include:

“There ought to be something very special about the boundary conditions of the universe and what can be more special than that there is no boundary?”
“I don’t believe that the ultimate theory will come by steady work along existing lines. We need something new. We can’t predict what that will be or when we will find it because if we knew that, we would have found it already!”
“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen.”
“It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.”
“I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I’m an optimist. We will reach out to the stars.”

What was it like having Stephen Hawking as your Dad?

Lucy Hawking describes the moment her famous scientist father, Doctor Stephen Hawking, was asked by a child – what happens if you fall into a black hole?

“As a child you could ask any question you wanted – and get a reply,” she said.

*Lucy Hawking talking about her father Stephen Hawking, and where the idea for a children’s story book originated from*

One of the many books written by Lucy and Stephen Hawking:

George’s pet pig breaks through the fence into the garden next door – introducing him to his new neighbours: the scientist, Eric, his daughter, Annie, and a super-intelligent computer called Cosmos. And from that moment George’s life will never be the same again, for Cosmos can open a portal to any point in outer space . . .

Written by science educator Lucy Hawking and her father – the most famous scientist in the world – and illustrated by Garry Parsons, George’s Secret Key to the Universe will take you on a rollercoaster ride through space to discover the mysteries of our universe.

Stephen Hawking quotes your kids will like…

On the universe: “It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.”

On persistence: “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.” – at an Oxford University Union speech in 2016.

On curiosity: “So remember, look at the stars and not at your feet.” – at the Sydney Opera House in 2015.

On space: “May you keep flying like superman in microgravity.” – to NASA astronauts in 2014.

‘Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.’ Stephen Hawking’s words are an inspiration to us all regardless of our age, abilities or dreams.

Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

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Online competition to win SPACE RACERS kit by Isabel Thomas

Posted on 7th November 2017 | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment

Whether you’re age eight or 108 there’s something really exhilarating about making paper rockets and imagining you can really zoom off into space! Which is why we’re over-the-moon happy to announce we have FIVE Space Racer kits to give away for our November online competition, to link in with the November issue of Whizz Pop Bang science magazine Planetary Adventures.

To enter this competition we’d like to know what you love most about Whizz Pop Bang magazine. Send in a photo or video of you with your favourite issue, telling us which pages you read first, or which experiment is the best or who you do your experiments with in your family and why it’s so much fun. Email your entry to win@whizzpopbang.com with SPACE RACERS in the subject box by 12pm GMT on 30th November 2017.

Space Racers contains everything you need to press out and make your own paper rocket models. From the rocket that made the first manned space flight, Vostok K, to the future of space travel, the Skylon space plane. Use the easy to use, step-by-step instructions to build eight historically accurate rockets and two imaginary rockets, which are left blank for your own designs. A separate booklet introduces you to the exhilarating world of rocket science and space exploration, and includes fun and detailed fact files for each rocket. Published By Laurence King, priced £22.50.

Space Racers Make Your Own Paper Rockets is written by the hugely talented Whizz Pop Bang science writer, Isabel Thomas.

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